Tilting Harbour - John Greene
b'Fogo Island is one of the oldest named features in the New World, as indicated by its inclusion in the Pierre Bertius map of 1606 ("I. de Fogo"). Though Tilting was located on the "French Shore" area of Newfoundland, and was likely visited by French fishing crews in the early 16th century, there is no evidence that the French ever settled in Tilting. The style of fishery practised by the French did not require them to have permanent bases on land, but they did use temporary shore stations to process fish. The French also spent time on shore in order to collect wood and water, to wait out storms, and to repair their fishing craft. Local oral history indicates that Tilting was a French harbour before becoming a venue of Irish settlement. This is highly likely, given the traditional commercial and cultural links between southern Irish and northern French fishing ports. French documents from the 18th century refer to Tilting as "Tilken". Beginning around the 1720s, English migratory fishing crews began to probe northward from Trinity and Bonavista, and it is at this time that the first settlers probably over-wintered at places like Tilting. By the 1780s, Tilting evolved into an exclusively Irish enclave, beginning with the first visitors from Ireland around 1752, and continuing with the arrival of other Irish planters through the end of the 18th century. In 1787, Notre Dame Bay was surveyed by Michael Lane, who had been working with the famous Captain James Cook, until Cook was recalled to England. Lane\'s map clearly shows that Tilting was a substantial and important fishing station and settlement by the 1780s. Tilting detail from Michael Lane\'s survey map of Fogo Island, 1787. Look closely to see the key features of the map: Flakes in the outer harbour, sunken rocks (small x-marks) and Dominey\'s Brook in the northwest part of the Harbour. National Archives of the U.K., WO78/721 The origins of the name "Tilting" are unknown. Since Notre Dame Bay, in which Tilting is situated, was first used by French ship fishermen, the word "Tilting" may be French in origin. This is the case, for example, for nearby Twillingate, which was initially named "Toulinguet" by the French. For a while, colonial officials in St. John\'s mistakenly referred to Tilting as "Tilton Harbor" in some official documents. By the early 20th century, it was known as "Tilting Harbour" again. (Wiki)'